Women’s water polo remains undefeated


This weekend, the women’s water polo team played a double header in MPSF competition. The Trojans hit the road Saturday to face off against No. 20 San Diego State in a non-conference match and then returned home on Sunday to host CSU Bakersfield. The Trojans had a weekend sweep, winning 13-3 over San Diego State on Saturday and 16-3 over CSU Bakersfield on Sunday.

On Saturday, the Trojans (17-0) dominated Aztec territory with junior driver Ioanna Haralabidis firing away the opening goal for USC. Following Ioanna Haralabidis opener, USC demonstrated offensive depth with goals from junior driver Nikki Stansfield, junior 2-meter Avery Peterson, junior driver Stephania Haralabidis, sophomore driver Brianna Daboub, junior 2-meter Brigitta Games and senior driver Melissa Bergesen to bring give the Trojans an 8-1 lead at the half.

In the second half of play, Stephania Haralabidis and Games would tally up three more goals for the Trojans followed by scoreboard newcomers of the day freshman driver Brooke Presten, sophomore utility Annika Jensen and freshman driver Courtney Fahey to solidify a 13-3 win.

Defensively, the Trojans kept the Aztecs in check with freshman goalie Amanda Longan only allowing one Aztec goal in the entire first half. Longan totaled an impressive 10 saves for the day.

The Trojans carried their victorious momentum into Sunday’s home game against CSU Bakersfield, winning 16-3.

The Trojans demonstrated their champion-level athleticism, versatility and speed on both offense and defense. The Trojans carried out a high-intensity counter-attack strategy throughout the game, garnering 7 goals from counter attacks alone. The offense proved to be unbeatable from the two-meter post position, converting 3 more goals for the Women of Troy.

“We had so many opportunities with counter attacks today. We converted a lot, but rushed some missed opportunities,” McKelvey said. “It’s important that we take our time and watch the goalie so we can convert as many opportunities as possible in the future.”

Stephania Haralabidis and sophomore utility Hayley McKelvey kept the intensity high with multiple counter-attack goals each. Stephania Haralabidis tallied 4 goals for the day and McKelvey would add 2 more of her own for the Trojan cause. In the second frame, Jensen, Ioanna Haralabidis and Bergesen would also add on goals to take the score to 6-1 at the half.

In the second half, the Trojans kicked it into high-gear, taking advantage of their speed. The Haralabidis sisters would each have a counter-attack goal with 2 for Stephania. Games also made a name for herself adding two more goals with a lob from the outside and a counter-attack. In the final frame of play, Daboub hammered in another goal and Games added 3 more from the center position with yet another 2 counter-attack goals for Stephania and Ioanna Haralabidis rounding out the final score 16-3 after a pair of last minute goals from CSU Bakersfield.

“Next week we want to focus on recognizing our opportunities on offense and forcing more turnovers on defense,” said Stephania Haralabidis. “We need to keep our intensity high.”

The Trojans will host cross-town rival UCLA next Saturday at 1 p.m.